“Rejoice in the Lord always: again, I say, rejoice! The Lord is near.” This antiphon for the Third Sunday of Advent, the lighting of the rose candle, the undercurrent of joy bubbling just beneath the surface of today’s readings, are designed to awaken in us Advent joy. At the same time, the liturgy of this Sunday also invites us to cultivate an attitude of patience. What might be the connection between these two virtues, and how are they brought to light in the Scriptures that have just been proclaimed.
Good morning. E=mc2. We’re all familiar with this equation which is one of Einstein’s greatest discoveries. The ‘c’ in the equation stands for the speed of light. Light is one of the fundamental characteristics of our universe. It is remarkable in that the speed of light is the same for all observers and nothing, no signal can go faster than the speed of light. Light brings us information and we have learned a great deal about our universe by analyzing the characteristics of the light from distant stars and galaxies. So light is a good metaphor for Jesus. In the beginning of John’s Gospel, Jesus is referred to as the light of the world and that divine light contains the most important knowledge of all: the knowledge of God’s love for us all which redeems us and takes us out of the darkness of our selfishness. John says in his Prologue, Jesus’ life “was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
In a small country town, a stranger stopped outside the general store and saw a big sign reading: “Danger! Beware of dog!” As he entered, he stepped over Rocky, the shopkeeper’s big bloodhound, sound asleep and blocking the entrance. Looking down at the snoring dog, he turned to the owner and asked, “Is this the dog people are supposed to be afraid of?” “Yep, that’s him,” the owner answered. Amused, the man responded, “He certainly doesn’t look very dangerous to me. Why would you ever post such a sign?” The owner explained: “Because before I put up that sign, people kept tripping over him!”
“Beware, keep alert: for you do not know the time of your Master’s coming. Keep awake!”
In the 1950s, Prime Minister Nikita Khruschev famously described Russian foreign policy as follows: “We have no pride; only interests.” Today’s Gospel presents us with the fascinating encounter between Jesus and an unnamed Canaanite woman, a Gentile, living in what would
Although you wouldn’t guess it from the weather so far, summer is here! A time to wind down from our busy schedules, a time when parish priests are encouraged ro scale their homilies down to "homilettes". And yet, we continue to gather together on the Lord's day, to be nourished by the God who
Locked doors, the Fire of love, and the Breath of the Spirit
Deacon Richard HaberJune 4, 2017
Good morning! We celebrate this morning the completion of the Easter cycle of our liturgical year. We celebrate “the world (is) charged with the grandeur of God…. Because the Holy (Ghost) Spirit over the bent/World broods with warm breast and with ah!
We celebrate today the Ascension of the Lord. It is a fascinating feast, full of paradoxes: a leave-taking that prepares us for an arrival, an absence necessary to reveal a fuller and deeper presence. Jesus had already told his friends that it was necessary that he should go away, so that the promised Spirit could come, and lead them to a deeper and fuller truth. Contained in his farewell discourse, located by St. John on the evening of the Last Supper, it was a message intended to console, to comfort, to strengthen them for the trials to come.
Last year, the world of music and poetry lost an iconic figure: Montreal’s very own Leonard Cohen. Without ever renouncing his Jewish identity and traditions, Leonard was also strongly influenced by Buddhist teaching and practice. There are also many explicitly Christian images in his songs.
St. Monica's Parish